Diversion to The Planet Sycorax
by takethetardis97
Summary: Set before the Series 8 finale. The Doctor actually misses his companion with the 'too-wide' face when she begins to prefer a quiet Earth life with Danny over their constant traveling. After curiously following some passing vessels bound towards a nearby planet, the Doctor finds himself slightly in over his head. Nevertheless, he knows it will be worth it if he can save a life.
1. Chapter 1

In the vast, open space speckled by innumerable clusters of stars, one could just barely make out that little blue box bobbing along like an apple in water. Long legs dangled over the edge of the open doorway, and the Doctor stared contemplatively into the empty universe before him. For a man who had all of time and space at his fingertips, it still amazed him how alone he could be. Clara hadn't phoned him in ages; he figured she was more happy doing normal, human things with Danny Pink than she was precariously traveling about with him.

What was he doing? Since when did the Doctor, the man who'd saved innocent lives on countless occasions and defended Earth against many a tyrannical species, start moping when a girl didn't call him? The silver-haired man stood, folding his arms and still leaning against the door frame of his ship. For several minutes, he became entranced by the vast and unending darkness before his very eyes, assured that somewhere out in the universe, Clara was happy. He then stared back at the TARDIS control panel and a frown tugged at his lips. Technically now, in the 29th century, Clara was long dead.

The TARDIS shuddered slightly around him, but the Doctor remained unphased. The trembling grew more violent; however, and the thin man peered through the open entrance to see what was going on. With wide eyes, the Doctor watched helplessly as a Goliath ship advanced toward him. The unfamiliar metal beast inched closer and closer and...

It passed him.

He regained his composure, sitting back at the edge of his ship and allowing his legs to swing back and forth in the empty darkness. The TARDIS began to quake again. _Rickety old ship_, cursed the Doctor internally, though he new that his constant companion hadn't aged a day since he'd stolen her from Gallifrey. Another ship, this one only slightly smaller than the first, passed the little blue box on its left. The Doctor groaned now, knowing that his relaxing and contemplative ride through the stars had come to an abrupt end. What were these ships doing way out in the middle of nowhere, anyway?

He couldn't believe he hadn't seen the giant reddish planet that he was now fast approaching. _Judging by the two ships ahead,_ the Doctor thought as they both began preparations for landing, _that was where the party was. _Accepting the fact that Clara was not going to call, the Doctor leaped to his feet with a rare vigor, sealed the wooden door, and strode over to the control panel. Eying the two gargantuan vessels through a screen as they descended into the planet's dense atmosphere, the doctor flipped a few levers and twisted a few knobs to prompt the TARDIS to follow.

It took a few minutes until the Doctor landed squarely between the two substantially larger transports. He gulped as he stood by the closed doors, knowing that his entire plan was the gamble of his life. _This is all your fault, Clara, _he grumbled in his head, assuming she could hear him, _See what I get myself into when you're to busy to come 'round? _He gulped again because he wasn't, in fact, even entirely sure as to _what _he'd gotten himself into. The answer, he knew, was mere feet outside the wooden doors.

As he creaked the door open, he heard the crisp opening of the entrance to the ship at his right. The ship to his left made a similar sound, reminding the Doctor of the sound a jar of custard makes when the lid is broken from its seal. From each ship a different breed of creature walked down with administrative grace, while the Doctor ambled out of his own ship like just another Scot who'd had one too many to drink. He soon wished that he hadn't.

The man standing before him was tall and broad in stature, with archaic garb, a thick exoskeleton, and a barbarous grin. Folding his muscular arms, he spoke gruffly to the three very different entities before him.

"Welcome, intergalactic collectors," he roared, "to the planet Sycorax."


	2. Chapter 2

The Doctor kept his words to a minimum, trailing slightly behind the three others as they all trekked across the reddish plain. Exactly what the Sycorax wanted to sell to him, he did not know, but he assumed the worse. He repeatedly heard terms like 'wide variety' and 'the very best' being tossed around by the grunting creature in front of him. He knew he was in deep now; doing business with the Sycorax was the equivalent of entering the ring with an angry bull. Of course, he was going to have to find a way out.

The four of them entered a stone cave, which had torches lining the walls and droplets of of hot oil falling occasionally from the rocky ceiling. The Doctor found himself wanting to remove his jacket as a wave of heat washed over him like an unpleasant sludge. One of the creatures at his side, no doubt the ambassador for his (or her) crew, began to secrete a light blue puss from its scaly skin. The Doctor, unfamiliar with the ambassador's species, assumed this was its equivalent to human sweat.

"Little hot, isn't it?" the Doctor spoke for the first time, and the large Sycorax reacted with an uncomprehending expression. Waving his skinny-fingered hand, the Doctor dismissed his own remark and followed the group deeper into the hell-hole

The cave only grew hotter and more dimly-lit as they traveled further, and soon, the Doctor could see a line of Sycorax with the stances of soldiers as the tunnel-like cave opened into a large room. The Sycorax man who had greeted them took his place in front of the others of his kind, staring intensely back at the three collectors he had led into the open room. He opened his stretched mouth and spoke in the same gruff, throaty voice.

"We have a few additions to our market, collectors," he grumbled, folding large arms across his chest, "We will display one of each species we have in stock, and then you may choose which set you would like to purchase. As they are the strongest you will ever encounter, they will not be inexpensive." As the barbarous creature finished speaking, the Doctor was without doubt as to what was going on. Chains clinked heavily against the floor of the stone tunnel ahead of them, growing louder and louder as the time passed. Within seconds, a group of creatures emerged from the darkness. Their metal bondage chafed their skin, leading some to bleed. If the creature had eyes, then his eyes revealed nothing but the desolation that shined through from his soul. There was no darker business than the one that the Doctor had gotten himself into now.

_He was looking at slaves._

The line that formed exhibited around thirty different species. Each individual was completely naked, stripped completely of any form of identity. The Doctor gulped at the thought that, for each creature in the line, there were hundreds of the same who were imprisoned there as well. He knew, then, that it was impossible to leave now.

"Our newest additions," roared one of the Sycorax, striding towards the end of the line of battered slaves, "Are around five hundred of the human race."

At the mention of the civilization the Doctor swore to protect, his eyes lit up and followed the Sycorax salesman. However; the person to whom he was referring looked ever-so-slightly nonhuman. At the end of the line stood a girl who seemed too short to be what they claimed she was. At first, with horror, the Doctor thought she was a child. Upon looking closer, though, he noticed that her face was that of a teenager. Her hair was bright streaks of yellow and brown, cut in a fashion that kids from Clara's time would have considered stylish, despite the fact that it looked like it was cut with a sword, (_in this case,_ he thought, _it probably was_). The girl's face was nearly filled to capacity with constellations of freckles. Her most notable inhuman attributes were her long lashes and her glowing blue eyes. The orbs shined on the Doctor, emotionless, and it was only after a few long moments that the almost imperceptible glimmer of sadness sparked from inside of her.

The Sycorax shoved her forward, and the glimmer was gone.


End file.
